The following invention relates generally to pipeline lateral packers which are used extensively in pipes, tubes, conduits, etc. in the application of a xe2x80x9cfeltxe2x80x9d impregnated with epoxy in order to seal a crack in or collapse of said pipes, tubes, conduits, etc. Specifically, the invention relates to the application of a lateral packer having a xe2x80x9ctop-hatxe2x80x9d felt in communication therewith. The invention permits the placement of the xe2x80x9ctop-hatxe2x80x9d felt in the joint that connects a feed line to a main line in order to inhibit infiltration of fluids and other material into the pipeline because of a crack at the joint caused by a shift in position of the main line or feed line or both.
Frequently, after a term of time, a pipeline, because of extrinsic phenomena, shifts from its original position. This shift in position causes undue stresses and strains on the pipeline. These stresses and strains particularly effect the integrity of the joints that connect any feeder lines to the main line. The result of this degradation in integrity yields cracks at the joint. These cracks permit fluid and other materials to enter into the pipeline and causes a contamination of the product being transported through the pipeline. The consequences of the contamination can range from destroying the usefulness of the product to excess cost in refining or cleaning the product because of an excess in material that has to be cleaned.
This excess cost in cleaning the product is readily illustrated with the treatment of sewage. There is a tendency within this segment of the art to have leakage at the joint between the main sewer line and each feeder line running from the real property that generates the sewage. The main concern of those skilled in this art is not raw sewage leaking out into the water table, although that is of an environmental concern to be dealt with accordingly; but one of clean water from the water table leaking into the sewer lines. This is known in the art as xe2x80x9cinfiltrationxe2x80x9d. The infiltration of ground water is of concern because of the cost associated with treating the sewage. The cost of treating the sewage from the main sewer line is approximately one to two dollars per U.S. gallon. If clean water is introduced into the system, then this also is treated along with the sewage which increases the number of gallons that must be treated by the sewage treatment plant. The more gallons that have to be treated increases the total amount of money needed to treat a municipality""s waste. With municipalities"" budgets always under scrutiny to reduce costs, any reduction in the total amount of material presented for treatment at the sewage treatment plant would provide a reduction in the overall costs of municipality""s operating budget.
The prior art""s solution to the infiltration of ground water has been to apply an internal sleeve in the area of the crack and through trolley mechanisms and adhere this internal sleeve to the internal surface of the pipeline. The drawbacks to this system are many. For one thing, the prior art requires the use of a pipeline trolley that is fed into the main sewer line at a man-hole junction. Prior to insertion into the pipeline, the trolley is fitted with an internal sleeve for placement adjacent the crack or breach. The trolley is then inserted in the pipeline and worked up to the area in the pipeline where the crack or breach is located. Then the trolley has to be manipulated into a position that facilitates placement of the sleeving onto the internal pipeline surface juxtaposed the crack or breach. Then the application and setting of the sleeving is done with the trolley. Upon the fixing of the sleeving on the internal pipe surface, the trolley is repositioned and then extracted from the pipeline. As seen from this description the operation of this procedure is complex and time consuming. The prior art estimates it takes approximately two man hours to complete this operation. This operation has to be done for each breach and if there are multiple breaches, the amount of time required could be totally unacceptable to users of the pipeline because of the inconvenience of not being able to use fixtures that utilize the pipeline.
The present invention alleves the drawbacks of the prior art. As will be described infra, the present invention permits quick and easy access to the breach and permits multiple breaches to be fixed concurrently thus reducing the total downtime of the pipeline.
Further, in the installation, testing and maintenance of pipelines, it becomes necessary to interrupt the flow of the material contained within the pipeline or to seal off areas of the pipeline and divert the flow. Plugs which are inflatable are widely used and have proven extremely reliable in service. It is extremely likely that workmen will have to be protected only by the effectiveness of the plug when working downstream from the fluid flow. Thus, it is essential that these plugs operate in their intended manner. Currently a wide variety of different types of plugs are on the market which generally perform satisfactorily.
The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant""s acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.
Mechanics of Pneumatic Tires; U.S. National Bureau of Standards; Joseph D. Walter; Issued: November 1971; pp 405-421.
So. Ca. P; General Catalogue; Date of Issue and author unknown.
Uniroyal Brochure xe2x80x9cUniroyal Pipe Stoppersxe2x80x9d; Uniroyal, Inc., Engineered Systems Depts.; Date of Issue unknown.
The present invention is distinguishable over the known prior art in a multiplicity of ways. In its most elemental form, the invention takes into account the difficulties of installing an internal sleeve at a joint that constitutes the juncture of the main line and feeder line. To accommodate for the geometry of such a joint within a pipeline there is provided a lateral packer and a felt.
The lateral packer has a hollow shaft ending in a solid cap with a steel pull eye embedded in the cap and an inflation fitting running through the cap into the hollow shaft. At the opposite end of the cap is a flange that abuts the hollow shaft thus creating a chamber. The flange is formed from at least two plys of suitable material. The ply closest to the hollow shaft is fixed thereto and has a bore proximate the center of the flange. The second ply is fixed to the first ply and has two bores, one of which is in-line with the bore on the first ply. Prior to assembly of the first ply to the hollow shaft and the second ply to the first ply of the flange, another inflation fitting is set into the two bores that are in-line and another steel pull eye is sandwiched between the two plies with its distal end protruding through the second bore within the second ply. The felt is generally shaped like a xe2x80x9ctop-hat,xe2x80x9d less the top that closes a crown.
The felt is placed over the shaft with its brim resting on the flange. The felt is either impregnated, saturated or doped with epoxy. It is this epoxy that causes the felt to fix to the internal surface of the joint that has the crack, thus sealing the crack from the inside of the pipeline. The felt can also have woven into it an olefin string. During the packaging together of the lateral packer and the felt, the olefin string is attached on one side of the felt, extended over the shaft and through the steel pull eye on the cap and returned to the felt and attached thereto. This causes the felt to remain substantially fixed in position on the lateral packer and avoids the scrunching down of the felt toward the flange while the combination is being moved into position within the pipeline.
In operation, the combination described supra has attached to it a hose with matching inflation fitting attached to either inflation fitting and cable attached to either or both steel pull eyes. The cable is fed through the area of pipeline that contains the section that needs repair. Once the cable is fed through, the combination is navigated into a position over the location of the crack. Then an inflation fluid or material is pumped through the hose and into the hollow shaft via the inflation fitting. Filling the hollow shaft with an inflation medium causes it to expand radially. This radial expansion presses the felt against the inside of the pipeline. This pressurization of the felt activates the epoxy coating on the felt which causes the epoxy to harden and fixes the felt to the inside of the pipeline while also filling the crack with epoxy and felt material thus making a seal to inhibit infiltration. The lateral packer is then deflated which leaves the felt attached to the inside of the pipeline. Then the lateral packer is removed by the cabling attached to either or both steel pull eyes.
This operation described hereinabove takes less time than the operation of the prior art. Further, by utilizing the present invention, multiple operations as described above can occur concurrently within the same section of the pipeline. This has the advantage of reducing the overall time a section of pipeline is inoperable because of the ongoing repair process.
The lateral packer is distinguished over the known prior art in a multiplicity of ways. In its most elemental form, the invention takes into account the forces that are generated during the inflation process of the plug and harness those forces to increase the structural integrity of the plug as the inflation process proceeds to its optimum design level. While the term xe2x80x9cinflationxe2x80x9d is used throughout the text, it should be understood that any sort of pressure which causes distension of the plug is intended as within the ambit of the instant invention.
In its elementary form, the lateral packer is made from a solid material. Preferably the solid material is an elastomer, particularly natural or synthetic rubber.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and useful lateral packer by itself and in combination with a felt.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device as characterized above which is extremely durable in construction, safe to use and lends itself to mass production techniques.
Another further object of the present invention is to provide a system for efficiently inhibiting infiltration into a pipeline.
Viewed from a first vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for efficiently inhibiting infiltration into a pipeline comprising; means for inhibiting infiltration of at least one of fluid and particulate matter; and means for positioning said means for inhibiting in the pipeline.
Viewed from a second vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a combination for efficiently inhibiting infiltration into pipeline, the combination comprising: a lateral packer and a felt.
Viewed from a third vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lateral packer for efficiently inhibiting infiltration into a pipeline, comprising: a shaft; an end cap on the distal end of said shaft; and a flange on said proximal end of said shaft.
Viewed from a fourth vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for efficiently inhibiting infiltration into a pipeline with a lateral packer and felt combination the steps comprising: inserting the combination into the pipeline; guiding the combination through the pipeline toward an area that is a source of infiltration; positioning the combination proximate the source; inflating the lateral packer such that the felt contacts the source and adheres to the source after a period of time; deflating the lateral packer whereby leaving the felt in place; and removing the lateral packer.
Viewed from a fifth vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for efficiently inhibiting infiltration at a juncture in a pipeline, the steps comprising: inserting a lateral packer and felt combination into the pipeline; guiding the combination through the pipeline toward an area that is a source of infiltration; wedging the combination into the juncture such that a brim on the felt contacts an inner surface of the pipeline proximate the juncture; inflating the lateral packer such that the remaining felt contacts the inner surface of the pipeline proximate the juncture, whereby subsequent the inflation the felt adheres to the inner surface of the pipeline at the juncture; deflating the lateral packer, whereby leaving the felt in place; and removing the lateral packer.
Viewed from a sixth vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process for making a product that efficiently inhibits infiltration at a juncture in a pipeline, the steps comprising: forming a hollow shaft; attaching an end cap having a first inflation fitting and a first anchoring means fixed thereto; attaching a flange at an end opposite from said end cap, said flange having a second inflation fitting and a second anchoring means fixed thereto; placing a felt having a crown and a brim over said hollow shaft whereby said brim contacts said flange; and attaching a string to a first point on said felt, passing said string through said first anchoring means and attaching said string to a second point of said felt.
These and other objects will be made manifest when considering the following detailed specification when taken in conjunction with the appended drawing figures.